Back to School

Items may be found in multiple locations. Check the catalog or ask a librarian for assistance.

Back to School list.pdf

Picture Books

Bailey, Linda. Stanley at School. [AR 2.6, Pts. 0.5]
Stanley, a dog, and his friends go to school to find out what children do in school all day.

Carlson, Nancy. Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! [AR 2.3, Pts. 0.5]
Even though Henry is looking forward to going to kindergarten, he is not sure about staying once he first gets there.

Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly Worried. [AR 2.7, Pts. 0.5]
Wemberly, a mouse who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.
 
London, Jonathan. Froggy Goes to School. [AR 2.4, Pts. 0.5]
Froggy is nervous about his first day of school; but even though it's hard to sit still, he has a wonderful time.

Mann, Jennifer K. I Will Never Get a Star on Mrs. Benson’s Blackboard. [AR 3.1, Pts. 0.5]
Rose's teacher gives stars for spelling and neatness and giving the right answer, but Rose can't manage to do any of those things right. Will she ever get a star from Mrs. Benson?

Pak, Soyung. Sumi’s First Day of School Ever. [AR BL 2.7, Pts. 0.5] By the time Sumi finishes her first day of school, she decides that school is not as lonely, scary, or mean as she had thought. 

Pearl, Erica.  Totally Tardy Marty. [AR 2.1, Pts. 0.5]
Marty tries his best to be on time to school, but a new invention, a giant squid, or something else slows him down every day to the delight of Never Late Kate. One day, Marty needs Kate's help, and the two form an unlikely friendship.

Rex, Adam. School’s First Day of School. [AR 3.3, Pts. 0.5]
It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary, and everyone is just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself!

Scotten, Rob. Splat the Cat. [AR 1.9, Pts. 0.5]
A nervous Splat finds his first day at Cat School much better than he expected.

Shannon, David. David goes to School. [AR 0.9, Pts. 0.5]                                                                                                                   

David's teacher has her hands full. From running in the halls to chewing gum in class, David's high-energy antics fill each school day with trouble.

Slate, Joseph. Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. [AR 1.5, Pts. 0.5]
Miss Bindergarten gets her students ready for kindergarten by teaching them the alphabet.

Vernick, Audrey. First Grade Dropout. [AR 2.2, pts., 0.5]
After an embarrassing incident, a young boy decides to quit school.

Wells, Rosemary. Timothy Goes to School. [AR 2.4, Pts. 0.5]
Timothy's enthusiasm for starting school is dimmed by seatmate Claude's expertise and know-it-all attitude.

Readers (Levels 1-3)

(2)Border, Terry. Peanut Butter’s First Day of School. [AR BL 2.4, Pts. 0.5] Peanut Butter is worried about his first day at a new school, so he asks his friends how he should get ready. 

(1)Dean, Kim. Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School. [AR 1.1, Pts. 0.5]
Pete the Cat asks everyone for advice on what to wear so he can look cool but figures out that he only needs to be himself to be cool.

(2) Hoff, Syd. Sammy the Seal. [AR 2.0, Pts. 0.5]
Sammy, the adventurous seal, leaves the zoo for the day and ventures into the city. Along the way he finds a school full of kids and new things to do—and he even learns to read!

(1)Mack, Jeff. Mr. Monkey Visits a School. (Mr. Monkey #2) [AR 1.3, Pts. 0.5] Mr. Monkey is invited to visit a school to perform a trick he just learned, but nothing goes as planned.  

(2)Marshall, James. Fox at School. [AR BL 2.2, Pts. 0.5] Starring in the school play means hard work, and being left in charge means keeping the class under control. Fox thinks there's nothing to it. And, when he's put to the test, will Fox retreat? Never!  

(2)Michalak, Jamie. Joe and Sparky Go to School [AR 2.1, Pts. 0.5] The endearing and mismatched pals accidentally latch onto a big yellow bus and leave the cageless zoo, Safari World, for their first trip to school.  

(1)Pendergrass, Daphne. Daniel Plays at School. [AR BL 1.4, Pts. 0.5] Daniel Tiger and Miss Elaina learn to compromise when they want to do different things while playing together and receive Teacher Harriet's gentle encouragement to try to fix the problem themselves.  

Fast and Fun

Adler, David. Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery. [AR 3.3, Pts. 1.0]
On her first day of fifth grade, Cam Jansen uses her photographic memory to help the police find a car thief.

Applegate, Katherine. Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs. (Roscoe Riley’s Rules #1) [AR BL 2.9, Pts. 1.0] When the first-graders' bee antennae would not stay on their heads and the drummers would not stay in their seats for the open house play, Roscoe decides to help by using the "don't-you-dare" glue.  

Greene, Stephanie. Princess Posie and the First Grade Parade. (Princess Posey #1)  [AR BL 2.9, Pts. 0.5] Posey's fear of starting first grade is alleviated when her teacher invites the students to wear their most comfortable clothes to school on the first day. 

Henkes, Kevin. The Year of Billy Miller. [AR 4.2, Pts. 3.0]
Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year, he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons.

Lee, Honest. The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13. (Classroom 13 #1) [AR BL 4.9, Pts. 2.0] Unlucky teacher Ms. Linda LaCrosse wins the lottery and shares her winnings with her class. The students fulfill their dreams with their newfound wealth, but they soon learn that winning the lottery is not all that lucky.  

Look, Lenore. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. [AR 3.8, Pts. 3.0] A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything.   

Pennypacker, Sara. Clementine’s Letter. [AR 4.0, Pts. 2.0] After learning that her favorite teacher will be leaving for a trip to Egypt and will be absent for the remainder of the year, Clementine devises a plan to get rid of the substitute and get Mr. D'Matz to stay.  

Spinelli, Jerry. Fourth Grade Rats. [AR 2.6, Pts. 2.0] Suds learns that his best friend is wrong. You don't have to be a tough guy, a 'rat,' to be a grown-up fourth-grader.  

Vande Velde, Vivian. 8 class pets + 1 squirrel [divided by] 1 dog = chaos. (Twitch the Squirrel #1)  [AR BL 4.4, Pts. 1.0] A dog chases a squirrel into an elementary school one night, creating monumental chaos. 

Fiction

Brown, Gavin. Josh Baxter Levels Up. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 6.0]
When Josh Baxter’s mother takes away the video games that have become his refuge because of his poor grades, Josh realizes he has to come up with a new strategy for success.

Cleary, Beverly. Ramona Quimby, Age 8. [AR BL 5.6, Pts. 3.0] In this Newbery Honor favorite, third grader Ramona rides the school bus alone and helps around the house while her mother works and her father attends college.  

Clements, Andrew. Lunch Money. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 6.0] Twelve-year-old Greg, who has always been good at moneymaking projects, is surprised to find himself teaming up with his lifelong rival, Maura, to create a series of comic books to sell at school. 

Ignatow, Amy. The Mighty Odds. [AR BL 5.0, Pts. 6.0] A bus crash gives four very different middle schoolers odd super powers, and although they wouldn’t normally be caught dead together, they must pool their powers to find out what happens to them. 

Grabenstein, J. J. Shine. [AR BL 4.4, Pts. 5.0] When seventh-grader Piper's father is hired by Chumley Prep, a school where every student seems to be the best at everything, she gets the chance to compete for the prestigious Excelsior Award.  

Greenwald, Lisa. TBH, This is SO Awkward.: A Novel in Text. (TBH #1) [AR n/a] When seventh-grader Piper's father is hired by Chumley Prep, a school where every student seems to be the best at everything, she gets the chance to compete for the prestigious Excelsior Award.  

Korman, Gordon. Ungifted. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 8.0] Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school.  

Korman, Gordon. The Unteachables. [AR BL 5.1, Pts. 8.0] When Mr. Kermit, a burned-out teacher, is assigned to teach "The Unteachables" in room 117, they experience mayhem and destruction as well as a shot at redemption.  

Medina, Meg. Merci Suarez Changes Gears. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 10.0] Merci Suárez begins the sixth grade and knows things will change, but she did not count on her grandfather acting strangely, not fitting in at her private school, and dealing with Edna Santos' jealousy.   

Parisi, Mark. Do Not Open! (Marty Pants #1) [AR BL 3.8, Pts. 3.0]  When middle schooler Marty Pants discovers an alien plot to take over the world, no one, not his best friends Parker and Roongrat or his family or arch-enemy Simon, believe him, so it is up to Marty to investigate and save the world. 

Patterson, James. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. (Middle School Series #1) [AR BL 4.5, Pts. 4.0] 
When Rafe Khatchadorian enters middle school, he teams up with his best friend, "Leo the Silent," to create a game to make school more fun by trying to break every rule in the school's code of conduct.  

Russell, Rachel Renee. Locker Hero. (Misadventures of Max Crumbley #1) [AR BL 4.5, Pts. 2.0] Questioning his resolve to attend public school after years of being homeschooled, Max is targeted by a mean-spirited bully and aspires to become like his favorite comic book heroes.   

Junior High

Anderson, John David. Posted. [AR BL 5.1, Pts. 12.0]
After cell phones are banned, a group of middle-school students decide to begin leaving sticky notes for each other. Soon the kids in school are leaving cutting and cruel notes, and nothing will ever be the same.

Angleberger, Tom & Paul Dellinger. Fuzzy. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 5.0]
When Max (Maxine Zealster) befriends her new robot classmate Fuzzy, she helps him navigate Vanguard Middle School and together they reveal the truth behind the Robot Integration Program.

Benjamin, Ali. The Next Great Paulie Fink. [AR BL 4.9, Pts. 9.0] Led by new student Caitlyn, seventh-graders at a tiny rural school in Vermont create a reality-show inspired competition to determine who will replace the school's legendary class clown, Paulie Fink. 

Gerhardt, Jake. Me & Miranda Mullaly: a novel. [AR BL 5.4, Pts. 6.0]
The fates of three eighth grade boys converge in biology class one day, as each falls desperately in love with the same girl.

Griffin, Paul. When Friendship Followed Me Home. [AR BL 4.1, Pts. 7.0]
Ben Coffin has never felt like he fits in. As former foster kid, he keeps his head down at school to avoid bullies and spends his afternoons reading sci-fi books at the library. But all that changes when he finds a scruffy abandoned dog named Flip and befriends the librarian’s daughter.

Kelly, Erin Entrada. You Go First. [AR BL 4.7, Pts. 5.0] Charlotte, twelve, and Ben, eleven, are highly-skilled competitors at online Scrabble and that connection helps both as they face family issues and the turmoil of middle school.